This is a relaxed session where the experience is slightly reformed to reduce the numbers of guests and minimise loud unexpected noises.
Making noises during the performance will not be discouraged and we have an available chill-out space for anyone who may become overwhelmed.
This relaxed experience is designed to benefit patrons on the autistic spectrum, make involuntary noises, or anyone looking for a more relaxed atmosphere.
Bring the family to celebrate Christmas at St Mary’s Guildhall and enjoy storytelling, gingerbread decorating and seasonal family fun with Father Christmas.
Join Father Christmas for a seasonal sensory story in the great hall, gingerbread decorating in the medieval kitchen, plus enjoy exploring the specular historical rooms along with a range of children’s crafts at the beautifully festively decorated venue.
*Please note this is a group experience which will be shared with other families at the event. Each child will have the opportunity for a short meeting with Father Christmas and they will receive a small chocolate selection box gift.
Bring the family to celebrate Christmas at St Mary’s Guildhall and enjoy storytelling, gingerbread decorating and seasonal family fun with Father Christmas and his helpers on Saturdays in December.
Join Father Christmas for a seasonal story in the great hall, gingerbread decorating in the medieval kitchen, plus enjoy exploring the specular historical rooms along with a range of children’s crafts at the beautifully festively decorated venue.
Please note that the 10:30am timeslot on the 2nd of December is a relaxed timeslot designed to benefit patrons on the autistic spectrum, make involuntary noises, or anyone looking for a more relaxed atmosphere.
Throughout the festive period daytime visitors can discover the lavishly decorated guildhall including two real 18ft Christmas Trees visitors can also follow a fun festive trail around the Guildhall and discover clues based on the history of Christmas traditions. Suitable for children and for those young at heart!
Storytelling with Father Christmas
Dates: Saturdays in December (2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd)
Suitable for: All ages
Details: Join Father Christmas for a seasonal story in the great hall, gingerbread decorating in the medieval kitchen, plus enjoy exploring the specular historical rooms along with a range of children’s crafts at the beautifully festively decorated venue.
*Please note this is a group experience which will be shared with other families at the event.
Victorian Christmas
Dates: Wednesday 6th December
Times: 11 am and 2 pm
Suitable for: Ages 8+
Details: Experience a special Victorian themed experience at St Mary’s Guildhall. Including Carols by the Christmas Tree in the Great Hall, mulled wine and mince pies, plus a special one actor performance of highlights from Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.
Visit our website to find out more information and book your tickets.
Christmas Lunch and Festive Afternoon Tea
To complete the experience, guests can enjoy brunch, lunch or afternoon tea in Tales of Tea – the atmospheric restaurant located in the Undercroft of St Mary’s Guildhall. Christmas culinary experience available from November 27th – 23rd December.
*Advance booking required subject to availability.
Visit our website to make a booking.
‘Lest We Forget’
Come and join us at 10:40 on Saturday 11th November for a short service to remember the fallen.
Join us for an exciting after dark tour of the Guildhall, be sure to expect some scares as we tell you about its fun and frightening history!
Join us after dark at St Mary’s Guildhall for some supernatural scares, creepy stories and a few laughs, then enjoy a bespoke seasonal cocktail this Halloween.
The evening includes a tour of St Mary’s Guildhall, discover some of its fascinating history and the reports of ghost sightings over hundreds of years.
Your spooky journey will begin in the atmospheric courtyard, from there you will be guided around the Guildhall to hear ghostly tales and experience supernatural sightings, you will finish your evening in the medieval crypt, with a hauntingly good cocktail at our ‘Tales of Tea’ restaurant but will you ever see the light again?
Expect a few scares as the secrets of the Guildhall reveal themselves.
This Halloween, Coventry’s EGO Arts brings you Mortal, a gruesome tale performed at London Road Cemetery.
One dark evening in 1885, Dr Cornelius Hunter is looking to cut a deal. But finding himself caught between the Crows and the Perkins, he soon discovers he has more to fear from the living than the dead.
Recommended for ages 16+. Content warnings: strong language and violence.
Over the first Heritage Open Weekend there will be a rare opportunity to see the vestments designed by John Piper, on display against the backdrop of his most famous design, the Baptistery Window.
The vestments will be on display during visiting ours on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th September.
Simple in design but nevertheless traditional and ‘gothic’ in character, these distinctive vestments have a dramatic effect that can be seen from a distance. They are still worn by the Cathedral’s clergy to this day but it is rare to see them all displayed together.
If you are a Piper fan there is also a Piper print available to buy at the Cathedral gift shop.
Do you have any Second World War related stories and objects passed down to you from your parents, grandparents and other family members? Would you like to share and preserve these objects and stories for future generations?
The event is part of a nationwide campaign organised by Their Finest Hour, a team based at the University of Oxford and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which is collecting and preserving the everyday stories and objects of the Second World War.
As these stories are fast fading from living memory, it is vital that they – and the wartime objects that often accompany them – are preserved for future generations.
At the Digital Collection Day, stories about your family’s wartime experience – and associated objects such as diaries, letters, medals, journals and ration books – will be recorded, digitised, and then uploaded to the Their Finest Hour online archive, which will be free-to-use and launch in June 2024.
Do you have any Second World War related stories and objects passed down to you from your parents, grandparents and other family members? Would you like to share and preserve these objects and stories for future generations?
The event is part of a nationwide campaign organised by Their Finest Hour, a team based at the University of Oxford and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which is collecting and preserving the everyday stories and objects of the Second World War.
As these stories are fast fading from living memory, it is vital that they – and the wartime objects that often accompany them – are preserved for future generations.
At the Digital Collection Day, stories about your family’s wartime experience – and associated objects such as diaries, letters, medals, journals and ration books – will be recorded, digitised, and then uploaded to the Their Finest Hour online archive, which will be free-to-use and launch in June 2024.
What kinds of war-related stories and objects are you looking for?
Any, from the extraordinary to the seemingly ‘ordinary’. We want our archive to reflect the diverse experiences of all those affected by the war: men and women across the British Empire and the Commonwealth who worked in industry, on the land, or in other roles; ran households and fought a daily battle of rationing; served in or supported the armed forces; and even those who refused to go to war for political or religious reasons. We are also interested in preserving children’s experiences of the war and would like to hear about any relatives who refused to talk about their wartime experience.
*Please do not bring any loaded weapons or potentially dangerous objects to the Digital Collection Day.
From juggling, hula hooping to plate spinning, our Jester School will include a variety of hands-on activities to teach you the skills needed to entertain a Tudor King and Queen, plus their distinguished guests! ?
Jester School workshops will be held on the following dates:
Wednesday 2nd August 2023
Wednesday 9th August 2023
Wednesday 16th August 2023
Wednesday 30th August 2023
The family fun Jester School workshops will start at the following times:
10.30 am
11.30 am
12.30 pm
Last session is at 2 pm.
Living History sessions
These will be held in the medieval kitchen every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the summer school holidays – July 26th to 3rd September 2023 (10am – 4pm).
Visit our website to book your tickets today.
From juggling, hula hooping to plate spinning, our Jester School will include a variety of hands-on activities to teach you the skills needed to entertain a Tudor King and Queen, plus their distinguished guests! ?
Jester School workshops will be held on the following dates:
Wednesday 2nd August 2023
Wednesday 9th August 2023
Wednesday 16th August 2023
Wednesday 30th August 2023
The family fun Jester School workshops will start at the following times:
10.30 am
11.30 am
12.30 pm
Last session is at 2 pm.
Living History sessions
These will be held in the medieval kitchen every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the summer school holidays – July 26th to 3rd September 2023 (10am – 4pm).
Visit our website to book your tickets today.
Join us for music and merriment during the school summer holidays!
Experience family fun activities, including children’s Jester School*, specially created immersive Tudor experiences celebrating music, dancing and merriment.
Jester School
From juggling, hula hooping to plate spinning, our Jester School will include a variety of hands-on activities to teach you the skills needed to entertain a Tudor King and Queen, plus their distinguished guests! ?
*Jester School workshops will be held on the following dates:
Wednesday 2nd August 2023
Wednesday 9th August 2023
Wednesday 16th August 2023
Wednesday 30th August 2023
The family fun Jester School workshops will start at the following times:
10.30 am
11.30 am
12.30 pm
Last session is at 2 pm.
Living History sessions will be held in the medieval kitchen every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the summer school holidays – July 26th to 3rd September 2023 (10am – 4pm).
Visit our website to book your tickets.
From juggling, hula hooping to plate spinning, our Jester School will include a variety of hands-on activities to teach you the skills needed to entertain a Tudor King and Queen, plus their distinguished guests! ?
Jester School workshops will be held on the following dates:
Wednesday 2nd August 2023
Wednesday 9th August 2023
Wednesday 16th August 2023
Wednesday 30th August 2023
The family fun Jester School workshops will start at the following times:
10.30 am
11.30 am
12.30 pm
Last session is at 2 pm.
Living History sessions
These will be held in the medieval kitchen every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the summer school holidays – July 26th to 3rd September 2023 (10am – 4pm).
Visit our website to book your tickets today.
From juggling, hula hooping to plate spinning, our Jester School will include a variety of hands-on activities to teach you the skills needed to entertain a Tudor King and Queen, plus their distinguished guests! ?
Jester School workshops will be held on the following dates:
Wednesday 2nd August 2023
Wednesday 9th August 2023
Wednesday 16th August 2023
Wednesday 30th August 2023
The family fun Jester School workshops will start at the following times:
10.30 am
11.30 am
12.30 pm
Last session is at 2 pm.
Living History sessions
These will be held in the medieval kitchen every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the summer school holidays – July 26th to 3rd September 2023 (10am – 4pm).
Visit our website to book your tickets today.
It’s reigning royals at St Mary’s Guildhall! During the May school holidays families are invited to get hands on with history.
Knight School – Saturday 27th May
Think you have what it takes to be a knight of the realm? Aspiring knights will learn sword moves and the tactical defence skills needed to occupy this daring role!
Medieval Kitchen – Tuesday 30th May and Thursday 1st June
Experience living history Tudors in the Medieval Kitchen where families can get hands on at making a sugarcraft flower, plus learn about weird and wonderful medieval banquet etiquette.
Daily Activities – Saturday 27th May – Sunday 4th June
Children can also enjoy daily making their own crown, designing a coat of arms for their own royal household and dress up in period costume before being immersed in 700 years of history via a virtual reality tour and be wowed by the story of the Coventry tapestry as it unfolds digitally before their eyes.
Tickets can be purchased at www.stmarysguildhall.co.uk and discounted rates apply for GO CV members, with free entry for GO+ card members.
Tales of Tea
To complete the experience, guests can enjoy brunch, lunch or afternoon tea in Tales of Tea – the atmospheric restaurant located in the Undercroft of St Mary’s Guildhall. Please book your table in advance to avoid disappointment.
It’s reigning royals at St Mary’s Guildhall! During the May school holidays families are invited to get hands on with history.
Children can experience Knight school on Saturday May 27th where aspiring knights will learn sword moves and the tactical defence skills needed to be a knight of the realm. (Between 11am and 3pm)
Daily Activities – Saturday 27th May – Sunday 4th June
Children can also enjoy daily making their own crown, designing a coat of arms for their own royal household and dress up in period costume before being immersed in 700 years of history via a virtual reality tour and be wowed by the story of the Coventry tapestry as it unfolds digitally before their eyes.
Experience how John Croke, a Coventry narrow-loom weaver and his family would have lived and worked in the 1540s. The restored historic building includes a full-size replica of a medieval loom in the upstairs ‘solar’ room. Explore the working medieval garden showing the plants that would have been grown for food, flavouring, medicine and household use. Enjoy talks on the daily life of a weaver in bygone days, medieval times, and the history of the building. You may also see demonstrations including weaving and spinning during your visit.
Tea, coffee and homemade cakes are served on Open Days.
Please note the solar room containing the loom is accessed by ladder.